Hi there,
Thank you for continuing to be a part of the Health Storylines community. We know that living with epilepsy can be difficult, and sometimes unpredictable. It can be helpful to explore multiple avenues that might be able to help manage your symptoms. A healthy diet is a great way to maintain your overall health, but how can it help your epilepsy specifically?
Before we begin, remember that any changes to your diet should always be discussed with your health care provider. While these strategies may work for some, they might not be right for everyone.
Research has shown for a long time, that altering your diet may be a potential means of improving seizure control in people with epilepsy. However, these studies primarily focused on strict diets like the ketogenic diet (or keto) and recent research is beginning to support the idea that less restrictive diets may also be helpful.
What do these diets have in common?
Like the ketogenic diet, but to less of an extreme, there is growing evidence to support the consistent elimination of sugar and sweets resulting in improved seizure control. These diet changes also include taking steps towards a natural, whole foods diet.
If you want to know more about how your diet might be affecting your symptoms, it’s a good idea to track both at the same time to see if you can spot trends. If you’re already tracking your symptoms, try adding the Food Diary tool to your Home Page.
